Sudan cancels dam projects threatening Nubian culture
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdallah Hamdok abolished plans to build the Dal and Kajbar dams along the Nile River near the border with Egypt after protests from local communities.
Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok issued a decision April 22 to cancel the construction of two dam projects along the Nile River near the border with Egypt after years of protests from local communities.
In a statement issued by his office, Hamdok said plans for building the Dal and Kajbar dams in the Northern State will be abolished. The two dams were proposed by the former regime of Omar al-Bashir, who argued that the projects would bring economic development to the area.
“All mega dam projects along the Nile River will be carried out after conducting all necessary economic, social and environmental studies,” Hamdok said during a visit to the city of Kidintakar on the second anniversary of the uprising that ousted Bashir.
The prime minister said the northern Sudanese states have been largely marginalized in all development plans in the past. “It is about time now for all local communities to be part of any decision [to carry out projects] and to benefit from the revenues of these projects,” he added.
